Returning to Col. 1: 15-20 we see Christ presented as the image of the invisible God,

the Firstborn of every creature. What is the meaning of the term, "The Firstborn of every

creature"? and what is its connection with the succeeding verse, "For in Him were all

things created, etc."  Our understanding of this entire passage is influenced by the

meaning of the word fulness. The first step towards the construction of the pleroma was

the creation of Gen. 1: 2 - 2: 25, with man in the image of God. To all that constituted

that creation which proceeded from the Lord as the Word, the Firstborn, the Son (Heb. 1:;

John 1:) Christ stands as Firstborn.  The fulness is closely associated with the

reconciliation as Col. 1: 15-20 will show, and these two terms are mutually helpful in

understanding their meaning.

Many of the points demanding consideration must be left for the further Series on

Redemption which is in hand; we must however in this article deal a little further with the

meaning of the word fulness. In the LXX the word is used in the passages "the earth",

"the world", or "the sea and the fulness thereof", and always translates the Hebrew

word melo. This Hebrew word makes its first appearance in Gen. 48: 19, "His seed

shall become a multitude of nations", where the margin gives more correctly "fulness".

This expresses much the same idea that is contained in the first occurrence of the word in

the N.T., namely, something filling a gap, making complete, suggesting a previous rent or

failure. In Isa. 6: 3 the A.V. reads, "The whole earth is full of His glory", but the

margin reads, "his glory is the fulness of the whole earth". Here once again the thought

impresses itself. The glory of the Lord has departed from this earth; the curse, sin and

death are here. When these are put away and the glory of the Lord returns, earth will then

be "complete"; it will have at last reached its goal.

In Rom. 11: 12 the "fulness" of Israel is set in contrast with their "fall" and their

"diminishing", and during the time of their blindness the "fulness of the Gentiles" is

brought about (25). In I Cor. 10: 26 and 28, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness

thereof" is the argument used by the apostle for (1) exercising the liberty which we have

in Christ, "asking no question for conscience sake", or (2) respecting the conscience of

another and so curtailing ones own liberty, "eat not". The idea is expressed in verse 31,

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God". As

in Isa. 6:, the glory of the Lord is associated with the fulness of the earth.

The use of the word in Gal. 4: 4--"the fulness of time", shews that it does not mean

the end of time, for nearly 2,000 years have passed since then.  It was rather the

complement, the generation which should bring in the glorious readjustment by the birth,

death and resurrection of the One who was then born. So John 1: 14-16 says:--

That pleroma "declared" the Father, for "no man hath seen God at any time".

Col. 1: 19 connects this "fulness" with the invisibility of God Himself, and the need for

Christ as the "image":--